Jerry Maguire

Tonight I came close to writing my Jerry Maguire memo...

I was out with colleagues from a separate business division and we got talking about work and the underlying issues.

There was a big positive moment and also a big wake up call too.

The big positive moment was about uniting the team around one individual goal. A singular and focused initiative that was all encompassing and had customer and consumer appeal.  Namely gifting.  Encouraging the consideration of gifting by all consumers in this particular business was an audacious customer proposition.  Gaining the conversion of all those consumers who thought gifting was important into a specific category represented £37bn of incremental sales value.  If they bought a gift twice per trip it would double to £74bn.

Now we're not in a position to make this happen as in a number of occasion we can't even get the stock there in time and in full (and there's more than that problem with this business unit).   But uniting behind this one goal would make ALL the other things actually happen.  The team currently have 34 business priorities right now.  The thinking tonight was to say forget the 34 and focus on this one because we can actually deliver all the 34 through this one, and probably deliver more than that, because to deliver this one big goal means we have to deliver the simple stuff too...

But the bad thing about all of this was that fact that 8 of my colleagues could only talk about this and a number of other issues with the help of a glass of wine and not be upfront about the need for change and how to make the change happen for the benefit of the business and the benefit for the individuals.

I was left with a feeling of my colleagues use language and behaviours to manage their careers rather than using all the tools at their disposal to manage the business performance. 

Tonight I could feel a revolution in the air.  I could feel energy and determination to change.  But I know it won't last.  I know nobody will write their Jerry Maguire memo saying what is wrong with the current culture and how to change that culture to offer benefit both to our customers but also to the shareholders.

I need to write my own Jerry Maguire memo soon to help me paint the picture of what I want from taking on this challenge...

A Crap Juggling Act

Looks like the voyage is taking shape...

I am growing more and more confident about leaving Shawshank, although I am prone to the odd bit of self doubt about how I'll cope and what my life will look like.

 

My plan is a bit like a crap juggling act... start juggling THREE balls, and then drop at least one of them, if not two of them depending upon how it goes.

Ball 1 - Interim management.

 

Ball 2 - Small Business Coaching.

 

Ball 3 - Develop & nurture my own business ideas.

 

Interim Management - is that not just going back into Corporate life? I see Interim Management as a way for me to wean myself off the corporate lifestyle that I've become accustomed to and also to become more financially secure as I can charge myself out at a higher daily rate than my current salary, and accept that I won't work everyday (I'll be amazed if I can get 50% of my weeks filled).  It's really appealing as it's what I essentially did in Japan and that was massively rewarding to me professionally as I was able to deliver a short term objective free from the politics (mostly free from the BIG politics), so I'm hoping for more of the same...  Over time I would like to drop this as the other two elements take off and as my need for corporate succour diminishes.  I'm assuming that Innovation, trade marketing and trade terms would be the main elements here.

Small Business Coaching is something that excites & interests me.  I would help out management of small companies (circa 100 employees) by asking questions, provoking thoughts & options and giving them the structure to decide & act upon their own options, and hold them to account.  I'd hopefully instill a guidance & leadership discipline that they may not have already.  I feel it needs to bridge the gap between lifestyle coaching & management consulting, as I don't want to do either, nor do I think that is my forte.  I'm kind of already doing this with my business buddy and also a collection of others.  My corporate training will help me structure the thinking and my functional skills will help me pose the questions & layout the options.  I'm not sure how I will really make money from this, so I really need to research this further by contacting some friends of friends who do a similar but different type of job. Will this bring me the lifestyle I want?  I see it as being rewarding me "spiritually" by helping others and I hope it will give me a full & financially strong  way of life, though I'll be no millionaire. I already have a marketing position which is to offer "training" for free based on being able to receive grants from Business Link in return for the small company recommending me to 5 other companies.

 

The third ball is my own business.  I know that the first & the second ball will not fill up my time and I know I have a tendency when there's not a lot on to become lazy and I want to avoid that.  So I'm hoping that I can balance my "downtime" from either of the above with the other one and if there is still time remaining then work at my own things.  I'm really motivated about having my won thing on several fronts:  it seems like "destiny" in that it fits everything I've done thus far; it could financially reward me in a significant way; it would fit with the my ideal lifestyle (lots of time mulling about, then an idea, lots of energy, lots of late nights...); and I would feel a great deal of pride in what I do.  My ideal would that the other two balls would drop as this ball becomes bigger & bigger...

 

So that's the plan, but I need to get some of the details clarified to make sure that the three balls are things I want to do and that I have the necessary skills to juggle all three balls at once and make sure I don't drop the one I want to keep up!

Relevancy

Over a beer last night with a friend we got talking about my idea.  I had told him some months earlier, and as normal, he said that was a great idea and I told him my dilemmas, and as we talked he thought he would give it a try.

So last night was the first time I'd seen him since he'd used my product and he said it was useful as there was at least two occasion where he definitely would have needed

Is this relevant to the user?  We saw two barriers to it being relevant. 

 

The first is infalability - people just don't believe they are like the average person, and two thirds of people could have a need for my product.  It's a bit like being a good driver - people are asked if they are a better driver than the average and 80% of drivers think they are better than the average, which is statistically impossible. People just don't believe the y will need this product, because they're not like everybody else.

The second is impunity - people don't see the costs or consequences of NOT using my product.

So now it's just down to breaking these barriers...

The Journey Continues

The other week I caught up with an old colleague to pick his brains about what my issue following my test was and also to help me research on a budget any potential solutions.

The main thought that came from our discussions was one that has worried me before...

... my product is irrelevant to people.

When introducing my idea to people they have all unanimously said "That's a great idea" and start to give me their builds on the idea (most of which I have already considered before they amde them so I smile and say interesting thought!).

But the crunch comes when I find out they are perfect target audience - they don't see it being relevant to them!

From that I think I have to focus on the "Reason To Believe" along with the Emotional Benefits and communicating both of those in a truly compelling & engaging way. To some degree my target consumers needs to be informed about what happens if they don't take my product, which is obviously negative and I'd love to spin that around into a positive & up beat message.

So working on that basis, I need to get in contact with some experts in the field of my product and then bounce my ideas around some consumers until I find a motivating & clear proposition.

My old colleague gave me some ideas on how I can do this on a budget, and here they are...

Find a "Group" on facebook and contact them asking for feedback on my idea
Find a professional "expert" who knows everything there is to know about my problem

Find a market research company who wants to work in my industry and see if they would provide some additional questions in their background questionnaires.

Pay for an omnibus research study to see the scope of the challenge of relevancy

A New Hope?

Its funny.... I look back on so many things that have happened to me before, and just when I've given up hope, low and behold something comes & along to re-ignite it...

Today is one of those days...

Following the disaster that was my test, I emailed the retailer that I would no longer be supporting the test either with additional products or in the form of the income guarantee i had offered. Before I sent the email I asked my business buddy to comment on it and he said "its clear, objective and unemotional" which was completely different to how I was feeling as I just wanted to say "What have you been doing??? You're screwing up all my dreams!!!". But I'm now so grateful for having some restraint in my email...

He replied today saying he would like to have another shot at it, to which I said yes although I would no longer offer a guarantee on his income and I wanted to come & see him and discuss what could be improved.

So tomorrow we live again to fight another day... perhaps my dreams can come true!

At least some people survived the Titanic

My test seems to go from bad to worse...


So far after 6 days, I have sold the grand sum of ZERO! That's right nothing, nada, niente, sweet f-all!


So all my posturing about what I would do if it sold only a bit or a lot was not really worth anything...


But I still don't know why I've not sold a sausage... some thoughts...



a) Nobody knows about it - awareness is limited to the POS I have in the shop window & on the counter, and whatever the retailer decides to tell the customer when he is in the shop.

b) Staff might not know about it - I got the feeling at the training that the retailer's staff (well one in particular!) weren't that interested in it or actually understood it, so if they're not confident about it they won't sell it.

c) Staff don't see the value in it - may be they just can't see how much cash there is to be made here and even if they do why should they care...

d) Takes time to build awareness / desire to buy - I often think my idea works in a similar way to a Big Mac meal at McDonald's. You go in there to buy one thing, and they ask if you want to "Go Large", i.e. a large drink & large fries instead of the standard serving sizes. Now that has become something we all know and perhaps are now so aware of it we might even ask now for a large before we are prompted for it. Perhaps it takes time for people to see this product, to be prompted for it, see its relevance in their day to day life and then later to actually decide they need it and buy it.

e) Incorrect processing of the sales - perhaps the staff have been selling it, but not actually logging any of the sales, so I think we've not sold a thing but instead have sold quite a bit. Doubt it...

f) Price is too high - this has always been some concern to me. The price is now related more to the cost base than an actual desirable price point and is at the top end of my own price expectations.

h) Doesn't meet a widespread need - have I really nailed the consumer insight about why somebody would want this product and part with cash in the midst of a recession? Have I been able to communicate that insight clearly?

i) Wrong type of market - my retailer is in a relatively poorer area of West London and perhaps this only has appeal to younger, more affluent consumers than exist in his locality...

So what interventions can I make?

There's little more visibility I can gain in the outlet, given POS is already in place and opportunities for more are limited by the outlet themselves. Its well known that people pay little attention to outlets (there was a voxpops I once saw of a man outside a petrol station who was a regular and had just bought something and he was being asked to name the brand of forecourt and he didn't know). Awareness from driving visibility seems limited. Awareness from having trusted staff telling you about this service is as yet unproven as to whether or not its happening....

I really need to get under the skin of the staff. What are they saying and how are they feeling about my product. Perhaps do some role plays. Listen to their worries. Show them the benefits. Take the time with them...


So, lets assume the staff are telling people about the service, then that leaves a couple of other options... Either people don't see a need for it or its too expensive. If its they don't see a need, I would struggle with that as almost everybody I've spoken with about this idea has said its a good idea. But is this people just being nice or is it a limited opportunity to white, anglo-saxon, 30-somethings that have an infrequent purchase cycle in this particular category? Perhaps its a bit like Dilbert...


If its price, then we can do somethings with that. I think I would test it for free, just to check the levels of potential demand, and then try it at several price points over the course of a couple of weeks to "gauge" the right price, rather than the other option of doing claimed purchase at different prices.

So what's next?

I need to do two things... first of all is conduct a mystery shop on the outlet and my business buddy has volunteered to do that for me. That should let me know what is happening there, but it won't answer why its happening and for that I'll need to meet the retailer and discuss with him what's happening and get his feedback on the test, and that might only give me a glimpse into why, rather than a categorical answer.

So all in all, I have only really learnt one thing so far ... its not going to be as easy as I thought!

Not a sausage...

Ok... its now getting a joke... We haven't sold a single thing. Not even a sausage.

I went to see him yesterday, delivering some additional point of sale and then talked to him about engaging with the customers about the product as nobody knows about it and he's trusted by his customers.

But it doesn't seem to have worked...

Never in my most self reflective, hyper realist thoughts did I think I would sell ZERO! I thought it might be in the tens at worst, not even in the single digits.

I'm now worried about the future... what have I done? I've told people. I've started a blog. I've spent my own money. I've made commitments about my job. For what? Jeez!

Perhaps its not a great idea. Perhaps it wasn't the right retailer. Need a bit of space to think about this...